Sign construction.



F. A. BRISTOL & P. J. SCHARRINGHAUSEN.

' SIGN CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 12- 1914.

1,192,982. Patented Aug. 1,1916.

mnnmucx A. iams'ron 41in raiin CORPORATION 01;? nsigniaan I n semile Ha sen-hi mmsimmoxs; ASSIGNORS 'ro BRJs'ro mmwmicgruamtrfc' ,Appllcatlon filed October 15, iaiaflsenaimi 8663491,

To all whom z'tmay concern: 5

Be it known that we, FREDERICK B -ia n 0n e15. 5ofF;ig. t showingthe de- .,;tails of construction-of one of the letters of TOL and PAUL J .=,SoHARRINo AUsaN,citizens of the United States, residingat Des Illinois, have inventedxcertainnewand useful Improvements in 1 Sign "Constructions; and We do hereby declare ,thefollowing tolbe a full, clear, and exactdescription of thef invention, such as Will enable others skilled; in the art to'which 'it appertains to make.

and use the same.

This invention comprehends new and-use- 'ful improvements in signs of the, electrically illuminated'type which consist'ofa; number; of letters, andv resides in" the provision of novel construction ,for' uformingseparate 5 illuminated letters;that issimple, finexpen-i sive to manufacture andg'reliable and; efli-a;

* ni ia afifinuchimanne as to fit ,Withinthe m t li se so ithat lthe ck 15 is; rra 75 cient.

Another. object of'iiimportance is ;to pro-3;; vide a supporting structureifor oneorrmore. illuminated .lettersi'that cooperates: with a letter or letters. sonasto'form --a simple dura-gg;

ble and. effective: llumi-nat'ed-riTsign wand which is constructed: so: that; sign. of-zany desired size and-inumber :of :letters "may be readily and: easily assembled-g5 Anotheri object cisji to. generally 1 illuminated 3 sign structure? offithezrcharacter a describedso as sto;-: renden ital-more: reliableand efiicient in z'operat o l facture nd-mama The aboveiaand 7 nal: o complished'ihy suohonieans ascareiillustrated in the accompanying d'rawingsfi (lcs the following specificatio ndiat;v particularlyspointedioufi-aneth .01

With reference We have illustrate :1 I ment of ourfiinysehtidnwasats:' l practice; .andnthroughoufi thet'sseyer tail perspectivemiiem ofi thetafileta-llic;

in the :baseiplatawliigg isis aeplahiview 'shfiwn partly 'brokentaiggay infithesbassblflckishdwing the electrical connecting members therein, Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a sign constructed in accordance with our mvent1on,

-,t he sign. Plaines, in the countyiof Cookand state of;

sages oriEopeni-ngs g 7.. w irml-E 192a mom mended; through theiap Specification of'iettei's Patent. 1 U

Q; and fljig. is 'a a, a horizontal sectional view Referring tolthe dravvings characters of reference, the numeral-.L-designates as any entiretya metallicbase frame for the letter vsupporting base of our invention that comprises a; metallic body; plate 2, an. upstandingyrear wall 3,fforme d integral Wlthg'thfi body plate and; extending for a distance; equivalent'toitheawidth thereof, and an upwardly andinwardlyinclined front Wall 4 formed onvthe edge of thebody plate 20pposite to that on, which the wall 3 isar ranged; and; which terminates at its upper;

dge n a. plane with t e upp edge Qit yvall; 3. 5A block -of ood or similar, insu- :latring material .5 is; inclined upon onev side clearly shownin Fig. 6.

giti1djn a0p nings orwpas a t a-gpo nt i, ntermediate itsjupper u tend fromao ects are acor; is

liQsanafo ble metal that Will asp;.aiiigie tmitii r 11.. tithe sign a a illabajla es mor 4. ascribed pairo aperture 91,- .formeasz 5' critic l y w faagn- 10 5 serve as an electrical conductor,- and are arranged to' electrically 7 iliuminable letter as will be later more fully described.

With reference to the foregoing description and accompanying drawings, it will be observed that an illuminated sign formed of a number of units, each unit comprising an illuminated letter, a frame 1, block 5 and pair of rods 8 and 10 may be formed with our improved sign structure. The rods 10 provide means for supporting an illuminated sign letter and for connecting an electric lamp or lamps therein with an electrical circuit. It will be seen'that a plurality of bases for letters may be easily and reliably connected with one another so that a sign of as many letters as desired may be formed.

. The rods 8 in each block of a sign composed of a number of blocks extend into each other and contact with one another, so that continuous conducting lines are provided.

We provide a sign letter 11, which consists of a metallic frame piece 12 of metal.

' The frame piece 12 may be of any desired shape dependent upon the letter to be formed and is filled to a point flush withthe side edges at the open face thereof with porcelain 13 or some other similar material.

A front for the open face of the frame 12 consisting of a coverin of trans arent material 14, for example, g ass, ising ass or the like is provided. This strip 14 is approximately semi-cicular in cross section and has its free edges disposed within the porcelain 13 and in engagement with the inner side faces of the frame 12. It will be readily seen, that an illuminated letter constructed as described will be durable and effective, and may be cheaply and readily assembled and disassembled.

Embedded within the porcelain 13 is a lamp socket 15. Any number of these lamp sockets may be employed, the outer ends of the sockets being flush with the outer face of the filling or porcelain 13 while the inner end rests upon the strips of insulating material 16. The rods 10 are extended through the letter frame 12 into the filling or porcelain 13 at any desired place dependent upon the size of the letter and the position in which it is to be secured and served to support the letter. The rods 10. are also connected with each of the lamp sockets in any suitable manner so as to provide a circuit for an electric lamp 16 mounted within the socket 15. The rods 10 may be connected with the lamp- 16 in any suitable manner however, in series or multiples, and it has not been thought necessary to illustrate electrical connection between the lamp or socket therefor, with the rod 10.

With reference to the foregoing description and accompanying drawlngs it will be observed that we have provided an illuminated sign construction that will enable an expeditious setting up of an electric sign.

. greases sorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of our invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is 1. In a device of the class described in combination, a metallic trough like frame havin a contour conforming to a predetermine letter of the alphabet, a porcelain filler substantially filling said frame, a plurality of lamp socketscarried by said porcelain filler and constructed with the outer end thereof substantiallyflush withthe outer face of said porcelain filling, a transparent cover of the outline of said predetermined letter of the alphabet, said transparent cover being substantially semicircular in cross section, said transparent cover also having its walls spaced at the edges to substantially correspond to the width between the edges of said trough like frame to enable the said transparent cover to set upon said frame with its edges within the edges of said frame, and a supporting base for said letter.

2. In a device of the class described in combination, a metallic" frame of trough like cross section having'a contour corresponding to a letter of the alphabet, a filler of nonconducting material substantially filling said trough like frame, said filling material being provided with a plane surface on the front thereof substantially flush with the plane determined by the front edges of said trough like frame, a" plurality of electric lamp sockets mounted within said insulating filler, a transparent covering of a substantially semicircular cross section extending from edge to edge of said trough like portions of said frame, said transparent covering being spaced from said facing a sufficient distance to accommodate electric lights mounted within said sockets, and a base for supporting said frame.

3.'In an electric sign in combination, an individualletter outline provided with electric lamps, terminal members connected with said lamps and'projecting from said letter, a base member having sockets therein constructed to receive the terminal members and detachably support said letter, a plurality of electrical conductors within said base, each conductor passing through one of said socket members, and coupling devices formed on each end of said electrical conductors, whereby a plurality of bases may be detachably coupled together to form continuous common conductors for supplying for detachably receiving said terminals, said electricity to a plurality of letters. letters and said bases each being relatively 4. An electric sign comprising a base coniand individually interchangeable.

posed ofnia plurality of members, means In testimony-whereof We aflix our signa- 5 forming a part of an electric circuit for tures iii-presence of two witnesses.

connecting said members together, a plu- FREDERICK A. BRISTOL. rality of individual letter outlines provided is PAUL J. SCI-IARRINGHAUSEN. with electric lamps terminal members pro- Witnesses:

j ecting from each of said letter outlines, and v CLIFFORD G. Ron,

10 means carried by each of the base members M. S. MOMULLEN. 

